LO 
CO 


NARRATIVE  OF  A  TRIP  TO  THE  BAHAMAS. 


BY 
GLOVER  M.,j\LLEN 

AND 
THOMAS  BARBOUR. 


CAMBRIDGE,  MASS. 

PRIVATELY   PRINTED. 
DECEMBER,    I9O4. 


I10L06Y  UBUn 


^lofc^Y'/  ^'Ot^''^ 


c^ 


BIOLOGY 
UBRARY 


51 


NARRATIVE   OF   A   TRIP   TO    THE    BAHAMAS. 

BY    GLOVER    M.    ALLEN    AND    THOMAS    BAUBOI'R. 

This  is  the  first  of  a  series  of  short  papers  on  tlie  flora  and  fauna 
of  the  Bahamas,  tlie  results  of  a  trij)  made  by  us  during  the  early 
part  of  the  summer  of  1904,  with  Mr.  Owen  Bryant.  We  visited  a 
nuniher  of  the  northern  islands  of  the  Bahama  grouj)  to  make  such 
collections  as  were  possible  in  the  limited  time  before  the  hurricane 
season. 

These  subtropical  islands  are  easily  accessil)le  to  naturalists  from 
the  continent,  and  although  considerable  Avork  has  lieen  done  among 
them,  much  yet  remains  for  future  exploration.  Most  visitors  to  the 
islands  go  in  the  winter  season  since  the  heat  of  summer  is  extremely 
oppressive.  Yet  we  found  it  possible  to  be  comfortal)le  and  at  the 
same  time  to  make  valuable  collections.  The  present  account  of 
our  expedition  is  offered  in  the  hoi)e  that  it  may  l)e  of  use  to  other 
investigators  who  contemplate  similar  work  among  the  Bahamas. 
Further  reports,  leased  on  studies  of  the  material  collected,  are  in 
preparation,  and  will  appear  as  occasion  may  offer. 

The  party  left  Xew  York  on  the  S.  S.  "Orizaba,"  sailing  June 
24th,  for  Nassau.  About  day1)reak  of  June  28th  we  sighted  New 
Providence  Island,  and  a  little  later,  on  landing,  found  comfortable 
quarters  at  the  Clifton  House,  the  only  hotel  o])en  during  the  sum- 
mer season.  We  spent  the  few  following  days  until  July  2d  in 
collecting  in  the  vicinity  of  the  city  of  Nassau.  A  carriage  and 
driver  may  be  had  for  70  cents  an  hour  and  it  is  thus  an  easy 
matter  to  make  excursions  in  several  directions  from  the  city 
pr()])er,  back  into  the  country  of  the  interior  of  the  island.  The 
gardens  and  cultivate<l  grounds  in  the  city  itself,  however,  are  rich 
in  insects  of  many  kinds  as  well  as  other  indigenous  animals. 

On  the  advice  of  Mr.  Ronald  Young  we  chartered  the  sixty  ton 
schooner  "  Wm.  H.  Allmry  "  (Capt.  Daniel  Russell)  and  found  her 
toleral>ly  well  adapted  to  our  needs.  8he  was  fifty-nine  feet  over 
all  and  drew  al)out  six  feet  of  water.  She  was  roomy  and  most  sea- 
worthy;  but  had  more  of  the  sj)ace  been  cabin  instead  of  hold  we 
should   have  been  suited    better.     We  cannot  too  strongly  advise 


691 


2  ALLEN   AND    IJAimorU 

persons  who  conteinidate  a  \  isit  to  tlie  Haliainas  in  siiiniiier  to  make 
sure  of  an  awning  for  the  deck  and  an  ade<|uate  siij»jily  of  mosquito 
netting.  Oils  of  citronella  and  pennyroyal  mixed  in  e(|ual  i)arts 
will  also  he  found  very  useful  in  hel])ing  to  keep  off  the  gnats, 
stinging  tlies.  and  mosquitoes,  which  are  excessively  ahuiidant  in 
some  localities. 

Our  crew  consisted  of  captain,  mate,  cook,  and  three  ordinary  sea- 
men, with  sevei'al  extra  men  picke<l  up  along  our  route  as  occasion 
re<piire<l.  It  is  wise  to  have  on  hoard  rather  more  men  than  are 
likely  to  he  needed  as  j)hysically  they  are  far  from  strong.  This 
ajjplies  especially  to  the  white  inhahitants  of  Ahaco;  for  a  diet  of 
fruit,  salt  meat,  and  I'ice  has  left  them  poor  workers  even  when  they 
are  ai'oused  from  their  tropical  lethargy.  It  is  possible  that  in  nuiny 
respects  a  negro  crew  would  he  more  useful. 

A  few  words  as  regards  food  are  not  out  of  place  in  this  connec- 
tion. .Manufactured  ice,  which  may  he  obtained  at  Nassau  for  a 
reasonable  |trice,  .^(/ ))er  lb.,  can  be  kept  a  long  time  if  packed  in 
large  chunks  with  a  liberal  (piantity  of  barley  shucks,  (iood  rain 
water  may  be  obtaine<I  at  Nassau.  One  should  l)e  careful  not  to 
rely  on  the  various  "  wells,"  really  holes  in  the  ground  where  the 
sui-face  water  collects,  for  the  water  from  these  has  a  most  unpleas- 
ant taste  and  is  teeming  with  aniuuil  lite,  much  of  it  (piite  visible  to 
the  nake<l  eye.  We  found  lime  juice  a  most  pleasant  a<l<lition  to 
the  water  and  always  used  it.  Limes  may  be  obtained  at  most  of 
the  settlements  for  \^<l  |>er  liuiidre<l.  I'^resh  meat  cannot  be  kept 
even  if  it  is  obtainable.  The  native  beef  and  mutton  are  vile  and 
nothing  else  can  be  obtainetl  in  summer.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
fish  which  abound  about  all  tlie  reefs  and  in  the  channels  are  very 
good  indeeil.  We  might  mention  especially  the  grouper,  the  various 
snappers  ami  grunts,  and  turtle  meat  which  can  usually  be  hail  in 
Nassau.  Sonu'  of  the  lishes  are  poisonous,  'i'he  barracuda,  parrot 
fishes,  and  the  and»er-jacks  in  some  places  are  said  to  ha\e  a  very 
bitter  taste  and  to  cause  severe  sickness.  A  gocul  general  rule  is  to 
avoid  the  luight,  showy  fishes,  although  I'xceptions  may  often  be 
nuide.  In  Nassau  canned  goods  may  lie  obtained  but  in  cjualitv 
they  are  far  inferior  to  those  which  might  be  brought  from  the 
North. 

After  ]>r()visi(»ning  our  craft  and  getting  our  ajiparal\is  safelv 
8towe<l,  we  set  sail  at  ;">  p.  m.,  of  July  2,  for   Ilupetown,  Elbow  ("ay. 


TRIP   TO   THE   BAHAMAS  3 

98  miles  north  of  New  Providence.  This  passage  was  rather  rough, 
o^dng  to  a  heavy  soirest  wind  and  we  were  all  glad  to  cross  Little 
Harbor  Bar  and  to  enter  the  still  water  behind  the  oixtlying  fringe 
of  cays  off  Great  Abaco.  Ilopetown  is  one  of  the  few  white  settle- 
ments in  the  Bahamas  and  boasts  about  1000  inhabitants.  Here  is 
the  large  lighthouse  that  warns  mariners  from  the  dreaded  Elbow 
Reef,  which  in  the  old  days  was  such  a  })rofitable  collecting  ground 
for  the  wreckers. 

For  two  days  we  di<l  shore-collecting  here  but  did  not  find  it 
particularly  productive.  The  rocks  along  the  shore  yielded  a  con- 
siderable number  of  shells  and  Ave  found  large  colonies  of  the  rock- 
boring  barnacle,  Lithotrya.  A  good  deal  of  collecting  we  did  in 
five  or  six  feet  of  water,  using  a  waterglass  to  examine  the  bottom. 
The  abundance  of  sharks  was  somewhat  of  a  drawback.  Although 
we  were  assured  l)y  the  natives  that  these  were  very  timid  yet  they 
sometimes  came  A\dthin  15  feet  of  us.  Though  we  did  not  see  any 
very  large  ones  on  the  Abaco  side  of  Elbow  Cay,  we  did  see  sev- 
eral monsters  in  the  surf  on  the  ocean  side.  After  two  days  spent 
here  we  went  to  Marsh  Harbor  on  the  "  mainland  "  of  Great  Abaco, 
and  from  this  point  we  made  several  excursions  among  the  intricate 
waterways  of  "The  ]\larls."  Here  we  saw  one  Sjtlendid  band  of 
fifty-four  flamingoes  as  well  as  a  few  scattered  individuals.  For- 
merly these  birds  nested  here  in  great  flocks  but  owing  to  the  great 
destruction  of  the  eggs  and  young  birds  by  the  peojde  of  Marsh 
Harbor,  a  mere  remnant  now  remains.  Their  nesting  site  has  not 
been  discovered  for  two  years  and  if  it  can  l)e  kept  hidden  for  a  few 
years  more  their  numl)er  may  increase.  In  the  Bahamas  the  craving 
of  the  people  for  fresh  meat  can  only  be  satisfied  l)y  using  gulls, 
terns,  cormorants,  and  flamingoes  for  food.  A  crying  need  of  the 
islands  is  a  good  set  of  game  laws  for  none  whatever  exist  to-day. 
We  were  forced  on  several  occasions  to  try  these  various  birds  as 
food  and  cannot  recommend  ])ersons  to  rely  on  them.  The  wild 
pigeon  which  occurs  in  thousands  on  some  of  the  cays  is,  however, 
delicious. 

About  noon  of  July  8th  we  set  out  for  Great  Guana  Cay,  where 
we  spent  several  days  in  shore-collecting  and  dredging  in  Guana 
Cay  channel.  Of  our  dredging  apparatus  we  purpose  to  speak  later. 
We  made  good  use  here  of  the  snapnet  in  collecting  small  reef 
fishes,  baiting   and  setting   it    in    from    10-30    feet    of    water   and 


Al.LKN    AND    RAKBOFR 


"watchinir  it  with  a  w  aterglass,  until,  when  a  mniiher  of  specimens 
were  busy  about  the  bait,  it  was  closeil  with  a  jei"k  of  tlie  hue  and 
hauleil  to  tlie  surface. 

At  tlic  kiml  invitation  of  .Mr.  Aithiii-  II.  XicM,  of  the  Sisal  Fiber 
Company,  we  spent  two  most  |)leasant  ihiys  at  the  e.xtensive  jilanta- 
tion  on  Little  Abaco.  Here  we  had  an  opportunity  to  observe  the 
preparation  of  the  iiber  and  to  collect  a  number  of  land  animals  and 
])lants  in  the  vicinity  of  the  village  of  Cooling  Tem])er.  Not  far 
away,  near  the  villatje  of  Tar  ]Jott(»m  is  a  larije,  almost  circular  lake, 
of  great  depth  w  hose  water,  fresh  at  the  surface,  is  salty  at  a  slight 
distance  down.  There  is  .sup]»oscd  t()  be  some  subteiTanean  connec- 
tion with  the  sea;  for  it  is  not  unusual  to  find  large  sea  tish  and 
sometimes  turtles  in  tlu'  lake. 

Leaving  Little  .\l»ai-o  on  July  11th,  after  making  a  short  stoj)  near 
C'e«lar  Harbor  to  e.xamine  a  series  of  caves,  we  stood  off  for  the  Pen- 
sacola  Cays.  Here  we  spent  several  days  in  dredging  and  slioi'e-col- 
lecting.  We  made  Moraine  Cay  our  head(piarters  and  from  here  we 
made  several  short  e.xcursions  to  neighlioring  islets.  This  island  is 
a  great  roosting  place  for  the  pige(His  anil  iiumliers  also  nest  among 
the  bushes.  ""I'hey  feed  during  the  day  on  llie  nearby  islands  and 
return  to  Moraine  ('ay  to  spend  the  night.  This  bird  is  tlie  coni- 
nion    West    Indian    white-crowned   pigeon   {('ohimba  lenvocephnhf). 

Before  •">  \.  m.  of  the  14th  we  were  off  for  Stranger  Cay.  'I'he 
wind  fell  to  an  almost  dead  calm  and  before  long  a  terrific  tropical 
thunder  s(piall  was  on  us.  The  rain  canu'  dow  n  in  blinding  sheets 
and  the  wind  l>lew  a  gale.  .lust  as  the  storm  altateil  we  made  out 
two  watt'rspouts  soiui'  miles  to  seaward.  The  wind  ln'M  favorable 
and  as  we  ran  along  bet'ore  it  we  passi-il  I''isli  Cays  where  a  great 
multitu<le  ot'  sea  l)irds  rose  ai\d  circled  aliout  shrilly  screaming. 
This  is  a  t'a\(>ritt'  placi'  for  the  spongers  to  "  I'gg  up"  liefore  a 
cruise;  and  it  was  e\i<lent  that  the  liii'ds  had  no  love  for  intruders. 
About  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  we  arrived  at  Stranger  Cay, 
where  owing  to  i-xti-nsixc  shoals  w  i'  had  to  lie  otT  about  half  a 
mile  from  shoi'e.  Mere  there  was  a  <U'Ser1i''l  ho\ise.  the  only 
sign  of  human  haliitation  since  leaving  Litlle  .\liaco.  ( )n  this 
island,  moreover,  the  soil  sei'ineil  to  ln'  lu'tti'r  suitt'<l  for  cultiva- 
tion than  the  meager  Itit  of  sand  on  nu>st  ot'  the  other  "I,»'eward 
Cavs."  The  nu)S(piitoes  were  very  troul)lesoine  and  as  the  island 
was  not  a  particularlv   rich   collecting   tii'ld    w f  were  not  sorry  when 


TRIP   TO    THE    BAHAMAS  5 

at  noon  of  the  loth  we  turned  south  and  made  for  Great  Sale  Cay. 
We  might  add  that  on  the  sand  flats  we  had  good  sport  from  our 
small  boat  spearing  the  large  "  sting-a-rees,"  giant  skate-like  crea- 
tures. The  way  in  Avhich  they  rushed  the  l»oat  off,  often  rising 
from  the  water  and  fla])])ing  their  great  wing-Uke  tins,  added  much 
to  the  excitement.  When  finally  killed  and  hoisted  aboard  the 
schooner  they  were  useful  as  shark  bait. 

At  Great  Sale  Cay  we  met  several  boats,  the  last  of  the  sponging 
schooners,  homeward  bound.  All  the  crews  boarded  us,  asking  what 
we  were  doing  and  where  we  were  going.  Perhaps  it  Avas  their  ad- 
vice that  made  our  crew  so  shy  of  aj)proaching  the  shore  of  Great 
Bahama;  for  the  following  morning  after  our  visitors  had  left,  the 
ca])tain  and  mate  asked  us  to  omit  this  stage  of  our  trij).  We  in- 
sisted, however,  and  after  some  excitement  incidental  to  the  har- 
pooning of  a  large  leo})ard  shark  (  Galeocerdo  tigrinum)  from  our 
deck,  set  sail  for  an  anchorage  some  distance  off  Hiding  Point, 
"  Grand  Bah'ma."  The  l)ottom  all  about  here  is  very  hard  and  the 
on-shore  winds  roll  up  heavy  seas,  so  that  we  dared  not  run  within 
several  miles  of  the  outlying  flats.  Only  one  of  our  crew  had  ever 
been  here  before ;  for  this  shore,  aside  from  its  other  unpleasant 
features,  is  not  a  ])rotitable  sponging  ground.  From  our  anchorage  it 
was  a  matter  of  scA'eral  liours  of  alternately  sailing  and  hauling  our 
small  l)oats  over  series  of  shoals  and  mud  Hats,  before  reaching  shore. 
Even  here  a  long  stretch  of  excessively  difficult  walking  lay  between 
us  and  tree  growth.  Tlie  entire  surface  of  the  ground,  except  where 
it  was  covered  with  a  layer  of  tine,  sticky  mud  from  an  inch  to  sev- 
eral feet  in  depth,  was  curiously  eroded,  and  everywhere  sharp  ])oints 
of  limestone  rock  and  ridges  keen  and  hard  as  knife  blades  rendered 
our  progress  slow  and  painful.  Once  among  the  trees,  conditions 
were  even  more  unfavoral)le  for  an  extended  survey  of  the  land, 
since  the  ground  was  everywhere  covered  with  a  thick  tangle  per- 
haps six  feet  high  of  the  thorniest  of  xerophytes. 

After  leaving  Great  Bahama,  where  we  had  been  al)le  to  spend 
but  a  couple  of  days,  we  retraced  our  course,  sto])ping  only  at  Marsh 
Harbor,  IIo])etown,  and  Sweeting's  Village.  This  return  passage 
was  rendered  more  difficult  by  the  increasing  number  of  squalls, 
now  of  daily  occurrence,  and  the  intervening  periods  of  calm 
weather.  Moreover,  our  stores  had  become  very  low,  as  unfore- 
seen delays  prevented  our  replenishing  them  at  Hopetown,  about 
the  only  place  where  food  could  be  obtained. 


6 


A  LI-EN    AM)    BAKMolR 


Near  Sweeting's  Village,  on  July  22<1,  we  went  ashore  on  ''the 
main  ''  in  order  to  visit  the  caves  at  Hurricane  Hole, —  one  of  which 
had  been  inliahited  for  many  years  hy  a  large  colony  oi  hats  (  Phyl- 
l<)in/cf<ris  jihinij'mits).  At  1  1'.  M.  of  the  same  <lay  we  left  for 
Nassau.  The  wind  was  shitty  and  sometimes  almost  dead  ahead, 
and  it  was  not  until  midnight  that  we  |iasse<I  the  light  at  llole-in- 
the-W  all.  At  aliout  ^J:!-""  i'.  m.  of  July  li;)d  we  again  tieil  up  to  the 
(|Ua\   at  Nassau. 

In  some  of  the  cuts  a|)j)en<ie<l,  are  shown  the  main  tyjies  of  vege- 
tation among  the 
Ualiamas.  The  text 
figure  illustrates  the 
ojien  pine  woods 
with  tangled  under- 
growth, characteris- 
tic of  the  large  is- 
lands, as  Great  Ba- 
hama, Great  Ahaco, 
Little  AI)aco,  and 
New  Providence. 
The  oiitskirts  of 
these  main  islands 
are  fre(piently  bor- 
dered with  low  man- 
gntve  swamps,  or 
more  ojien  stretches 
(1>1.  2,  Hg.  1)  where 
the  liroken  surface 
ot  the  limestone  of- 
fers little  foothold 
for  any  l)ut  .strag- 
gling bushes.  The 
wicket-like  metho<l 
in  which  tin-  man- 
grove bra  n  c  h  e  s 
gi-ow  is  well  shown 
in  liguri'  'J  i  pi.  '1 ). 
Still  anotluT  type 
of  vegetation  is  seen  among  the  cays.      This  is  a  tangle  ol  palmettos 


1 

^  ",'.-^   vf 

r 

^ip? ''      ^^ 

BniiU 

Hj^V'^-'i 

rinr  \miimU  :iri(l  miilfr;;'n)«  t  li.     (iri'itt    HmIimiiim. 


TRIP   TO   THE   BAHAMAS  7 

of  several  species,  bushes,  and  vines,  and  is  known  as  "coppet" 
(pi.  8,  fig.  3).  On  many  of  the  islands  cocoaniit  palms  are  intro- 
duced and  thrive  well.  IJoyal  palms,  date  })alras,  paAvpaws,  ))read- 
fniit  and  almond  trees  are  also  commonly  cultivated  at  Nassau  as 
well  as  other  tropical  varieties.  Quantities  of  ])ineapples  are  grown, 
but  the  soil  is  so  poor  that  it  is  soon  exhausted. 

The  land  fauna  is  in  a  large  measure  made  up  of  West  Indian 
species,  and  in  part  also  of  continental  species,  while  a  few  forms  are 
wide  ranging.  Mr.  F.  M.  Chapman  has  reviewed  the  origin  of  the 
Bahaman  avifauna  in  an  important  paper  in  the  American  Naturalist 
several  years  ago  (vol.  25,  1891,  p.  528-539).  The  indigenous  mam- 
mals of  the  Bahamas  are  few.  A  racoon  {Procyon  maynardi)  is 
found  on  New  Providence  Island  and  is  distinct  from  the  mainland 
variety.  Several  species  of  bats  also  occur.  A  species  of  Capromys 
is  found  on  the  Plana  Cays,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  group.  We 
were  informed  by  Mr.  Robert  Johnstone,  of  Nassau,  that  a  manatee 
was  captured  at  the  Bimini  Islands  al)out  a  year  or  more  since.  The 
animal  was  killed  by  some  negroes  about  the  time  of  one  of  Mr. 
Johnstone's  visits  as  circuit  magistrate. 

Through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Alexander  Agassiz  we  were  per- 
mitted to  make  use  of  a  hand-winch  and  350  fathoms  of  steel  cable. 
By  means  of  this  apparatus  and  a  twenty-inch  Blake  dredge  or  four 
foot  tangle-bar  Ave  made  a  numl)er  of  hauls  along  our  route. 
Dredging  from  a  sailing  vessel  is  difHcult  work  at  any  time  but  it  is 
particularly  so  when  the  weather  conditions  are  unfavoraljle.  We 
set  our  AAdnch  uj)  on  the  starboard  side  of  the  schooner,  rather  far 
aft.  The  cable  we  ran  forward  and  through  a  set  of  blocks  made 
fast  to  a  boom  on  the  foremast.  This  extra  l)oom  Avas  rigged  under 
the  regular  foreboom.  In  this  way  we  were  enabled  to  dredge  over 
the  beam,  a  method  which  is  far  more  convenient  than  dredging 
over  the  stern.  To  the  end  of  this  boom  was  attached  one  of  the 
ship's  runners,  which  served  to  hoist  the  load  on  deck,  and  a  guy, 
which  Avas  carried  forAvard  and  ma<le  fast  to  one  of  the  cat-heads. 
This  arrangement  is  shoAvn  in  fig.  4  (pi.  3)  which  giA^es  one  an  idea 
of  how  the  whole  apparatus  a])j)eared  from  the  boAV.  With  this 
apparatus  Ave  made  a  number  of  successful  hauls  '\\\  from  three  to 
tAventy  fathoms.  But  in  deeper  Avater,  say  fifty  fathoms,  the  Avork 
becomes  very  difficult  as  Avell  as  precarious.  The  lack  of  a  spring 
accumulator  and  the  character  of  the  bottom   were  our  main  dif- 


S  ALLEN   AND    HAUHOT'R 

ficulties,  and  cau8e<l  us  the  loss  of  several  dredges.  We  were 
also  unfortunate  in  liavinu;  heavy  s(|ualls  ronie  up  almost  every  time 
we  ran  out  to  sea  to  nuike  the  deeper  hauls. 

Persons  who  contemplate  dredging  in  the  Bahamas  should  a])ply 
to  the  Colonial  Secretary  for  a  ])ermit,  preferably  through  their 
Consul,  as  dredging  is  forbidden  by  law  owing  to  the  damage  to 
the  8j)onge  industry. 

Several  interesting  s])ecies  of  fishes  wei'e  taken  while  dredging 
off  the  island  of  Al)af<),  among  which  may  be  mentioned  the  rare 
eel,  Sphagehranchii.^  (oi(/iii/hniiis.  Young  Monocanthi  were  taken 
in  every  haul  on  grassy  l»ottom  ;  and  in  rather  coarse  white  sand 
we  obtained  Asi/Nonetro/i  h(ct(i/aiii(iii. 

We  may  fittingly  close  this  brief  sketch  w  ith  a  few  remarks  on 
the  general  conditions  of  several  of  the  nu)re  im))ortant  islands 
which  we  visited.  The  "out  islands'"  are  strangely  little  known 
even  to  the  people  of  Nassau,  to  say  nothing  of  the  average  Anjeri- 
can.  Much  of  our  information  has  been  obtained  from  the  Annual 
Report  for  190ii,  by  Sir  G.  T.  Carter  lately  of  the  Bahamas  and  now 
Governor  of  Barbadoe.  This  is  illustrated  and  is  far  more  inter- 
esting tium  the  average  l)lue-l><»ok  ;  in  fact  every  person  who  con- 
templates a  visit  to  the  Bahamas  should  rc-rtainly  senil  tor  a  copy 
mill  i(  :h1  it  carefully.  We  will  take  u[)  the  several  islan<ls  here  in 
the  order  in  which  we  visited  them  and   remark  shortly  ujton  each. 

New  Providence,  the  most  important  island  in  the  group,  contains 
the  capital,  Nassau.  The  islan<l  is  alxnit  twenty  miles  long  and  nine 
miles  broa<l.  The  po|iulation  of  the  whole  island  (1901)  is  about 
12, .')(»()  persons.  The  city  is  now  fre«|uently  visited  in  tlie  winter 
season  ai\il  the  island  is  therefore  well  known  to  .\mericans. 

Abaco  an<l  the  Northern  Cays:  The  main  islands  are  (Jrcatand 
I^ittle  Abaco;  according  to  (lov.  Sir  (i.  T.  Carter  they  liave  an  area 
of  77<i  sijuare  miles.  They  cxtcntl  t'or  94  inili's  ami  yet  the  popula- 
tion is  only  .'{oOO  pcoph',  aiul  is  derreasing.  The  principal  settle- 
ments art-  ( 'hcrokcc  Souml,  llopi-town  on  KUxiw  Cay,  and  (ireen 
Turtle  Cay.  The  first  of  these  settlements  is  a  mere  fishing  village; 
the  seconil  is  a  port  of  t'litry  ami  an  important  sponging  center. 
Green  Turtli'  Cay,  oiu-t'  a  flourishing  town,  is  now  fast  declining; 
the  people  are  said  to  lie  mo\  ing  to  i\ey  West,  VVa.  The  |)overty 
outside  of  Ilopetow  n  is  t'Xtreuie  :  indeed  the  reveiuie  of  Cherokee 
Sound  in  1901    is  stated    to   ha\  e   been   1'4  7.^'.      There  is  some  valu- 


TRIP   TO   THE    BAHAMAS  9 

able  timber  on  Abaco  and  a  concession  has  been  granted  to  exploit 
the  forests.  A  large  amount  of  sisal  is  grown  on  J^ittle  Abaco  and 
a  lesser  amount  about  Hopetown.  Off  the  Abaco  coast  to  the 
Matanilla  reefs  (lat.  27°  23'  N.,  long.  78°  50'  W.)  extends  an 
iinbroken  fringe  of  cays  and  reefs,  once  the  abode  of  the  unscrupu- 
lous wreckers,  who  now  have  little  to  do  as  their  favorite  trade  has 
been  destroyed  l)y  the  lighthouse  at  Elbow  Cay. 

Great  Bahama :  This  island  contains  430  square  miles,  is  06  miles 
long  and  from  5  to  12  miles  wide.  The  population  is  stated  to  be 
1780  people.  The  inhabitants  are  mainly  engaged  in  sponging  and 
lishing.  The  character  of  the  land  seems  particularly  unfit  for  agri- 
culture or  cattle  raising. 

The  people  of  these  northern  islands  do  not  take  kindly  to  the 
mild  vocations  now  open  to  them.  Their  ancestors  have  for  genera- 
tions been  very  little  better  than  pirates ;  and  as  they  often  told  us, 
they  consider  the  lighthouses  a  curse  instead  of  a  mark  of  progres- 
sive development. 

The  writers  returned  to  New  York  arriving  about  the  first  of 
August,  but  Mr.  Bryant  remained  behind  for  a  visit  to  Andros 
Island.  He  went  to  Mangrove  Cay  and  there  made  some  most 
interesting  collections,  ])articularly  of  reptiles  and  molluscs. 

Andros  Island  is  the  largest  of  all  the  Bahamas  l>eing  really  a  more 
or  less  connected  aggregate  of  many  islands,  the  whole  land  mass 
having  an  area  of  about  1600  square  miles.  As  only  part  of  this  has 
been  explored  it  still  offers  a  fruitful  field  for  biological  work.  The 
entire  population  is  only  a  little  over  5000  persons.  Hiis  island  is 
the  only  one  with  running  fresh  Avater  but  unfortunately  the  stream 
is  useless  to  the  settlers  as  it  is  situated  in  swampy  and  uninhal)it- 
able  land.  There  is  valuable  timl)er  on  Andros  as  well  as  on  some 
of  the  other  islands,  but  as  there  are  no  roads  nor  good  harbors 
it  cannot  be  worked  successfully.  The  colony  is  so  poor  that  no 
improvements  can  be  made  and  consequently  there  is  little  or  no 
encouragement  for  settlers  to  emigrate  thither. 

The  i)leasure  of  our  stay  in  Nassau  was  largely  due  to  the  very 
kind  attention  shown  us  by  the  American  Consul,  Mr.  Julian  Potter, 
and  by  Mr.  Young,  chairman  of  the  Sponge  Fisheries  Board  ;  both 
of  these  gentlemen  assisted  us  in  many  ways.  To  the  .Vdministrator, 
Colonial  Secretary,  and  Executive  Council  of  the  Bahamas  our 
thanks  are  due  for  permission  to  impoii;  and  use  our  dredge  within 


10  ALLEN    AND    I'.AKI'.nrij,    TIJIl'   TO    I'>.\IIA>L\S 

the  jurisdiction   of  the  colony.      I'iiially.    \\  r  ha\c   the   i»ieasure  of 

ackiiowled^int;  our  deep  ohMualioii  to  Kolteit  .Lihnstoiie,    Escj.,  the 

Colonial   Matristrate,  for  his  many  kindnesses  and    lur  his  generous 
liospilality. 


Tmr  TO  THK  Bahamas. 


Pl.ATK    2. 


FIG.  1.— ERODED    LIMESTONE   ALONG   SHORE.     (iREAT   BAHAMA. 


W- 


t 


FIG.  2.— OUTER   EDGE   OF   MANGROVE   SWAMP.     GREAT   BAHAMA. 


Trip  to  thi:  Bahama:- 


Plate  3. 


FIG.  3.— CAY  VEGETATION.  GREAT  GUANA  CAY. 


FIG.  4.— DREDGING  OPERATIONS  ABOARD  THE  '  ALBURY. 


.^•:<-?;:.?'^;f;il:!';'H:Ki;l:il'?iil^ 


I 


RETURN  TO  the  circulation  desk  of  any 
University  of  California  Library 

or  to  the 

NORTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 
BIdg.  400,  Richmond  Field  Station 
University  of  California 
Richmond,  CA  94804-4698 


ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS 

•  2-month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling 
(510)642-6753 

•  1-year  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing 
books  to  NRLF 

•  Renewals  and  recharges  may  be  made 
4  days  prior  to  due  date 


DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 

,um  1  0  2003 

JUN  2  6  2007 

^— 

DD20   15M   4-02 

A 


